Story highlights

CNN wins for live coverage of a news story for "Election Night in America"

The awards were given at the 34th News and Documentary Emmy Awards

Some 11 months after President Barack Obama beat out Mitt Romney, CNN itself emerged as a winner -- taking home an Emmy for its Election Night coverage, as well as two others for its coverage of race in America and unrest in Syria and Afghanistan.

And Nick Paton Walsh, a Beirut-based correspondent for CNN International, topped five contenders to take home the award for outstanding writing for his reports out of Syria and Afghanistan.

The news network won for live coverage of a news story for "Election Night in America" during a ceremony Tuesday night in New York's Time Warner Center, one of dozens bestowed at the 34th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards run by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

"Producing an election night is a team sport, and ours was the best team ever to produce an election," CNN's Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist said in a congratulatory message to staffers.

CNN bested a field that included ABC News for its reporting on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, "Good Morning America" for its Superstorm Sandy coverage and "CBS Evening News' " work on the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act, as well as CNN's own programming on the Israel/Gaza conflict.

On Election Night, CNN finished first among all cable news outlets between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. in total viewers, according to the network. It also outpaced the broadcast networks -- including NBC, ABC, CBS -- among those in the 18 to 34 age bracket, and beat CBS and Fox in prime time for total viewers.

CNN's digital arm had more than 203 million page views on November 6, while CNN Mobile garnered three times more traffic than it ever had on a single day.